WN: What do you make of opinions that Gracenote privatized two public goods: the original open-sourced software that CDDB was based on, and song information input by unpaid volunteers?

Scherf: This is a popular opinion in certain circles. At first, there wasn’t a negative reaction to the sale, and I took this to mean that people weren’t fundamentally opposed to CDDB finding a commercial home. People only started complaining around the time certain folks at the company started mishandling developer relations. (None of the people directly responsible for this behavior remain at Gracenote, and thankfully there’s a much better understanding of how to treat customers now).

CDDB depended on partnering with it’s user community for success, but in this Wired News article, Gracenote Co-Founder and Chief Architect Steve Scherf talks about the challenges of managing that relationship. Those interested in these issues may also be interested in my Futurtech Panel on Users as Partners.

Categories: Futurtech, Information Economics, Social Software, Users as Partners